Canadian Union of Operating Engineers and General Workers v. The Regional Municipality of Halton
[1983] OLRB Rep. September 1462
1257-83-R Canadian Union of Operating Engineers and General Workers, Applicant, v. The Regional Municipality of Halton, Respondent, v. Group of Employees, Objectors
BEFORE: Corinne F. Murray, Vice-Chairman, and Board Members L. Hemsworth and L. Collins.
APPEARANCES: Bob Sleva, Claude Duchesneau, Lori Monteith, Elizabeth Wiltse and Michael O'Malley for the applicant; Keith Billings, Raymond Feig and Dennis Camm for the respondent; Colleen Rivers and Carm Cardillo for the objectors.
DECISION OF THE BOARD; September 30, 1983
1This is an application for certification of a bargaining unit described as follows:
All employees employed by the respondent in The Regional Municipality of Halton in Ontario in the Social Services Department save and except supervisors/managers and persons above the rank of supervisor/manager and employees covered under subsisting Collective Agreements.
Subsequently, at the hearing, the applicant amended its unit to exclude those persons, organized or not, who are or would be covered by the Hospitals Labour Disputes Arbitration Act, R.S.O. 1980, c.205.
2The Board finds that the applicant is a trade union within the meaning of section l(l)(p) of the Labour Relations Act.
3The applicant and the respondent are in disagreement regarding the description of the bargaining unit. The respondent claims that the following unit is appropriate:
All office, clerical and technical employees employed by the respondent in the Regional Municipality of Halton save and except supervisors, persons above the rank of supervisor, confidential secretaries to department heads and managers, cash management analyst, capital budget and debt budget analyst, systems analyst, nutritionist, safety co-ordinator, business development officer, administrative assistant to the chief administrative officer, the internal auditor, property manager, solicitor, employees of the personnel and law departments, persons employed in make-work programs funded by other levels of government, special projects engineer, waste disposal engineer, persons regularly employed for not more than twenty-four hours per week, students employed during the school vacation periods, persons employed for a definite term or task, persons coyered by existing collective agreements and hospital employees within the meaning of the Hospital Labour Disputes Arbitration Act.
The respondent argues that to allow the applicant's unit would, among other things, unduly fragment the work force into a number of potential departmental bargaining units. If the Social Services Department were certified, 8 other departments would remain for potential organization. Part of a ninth department, Public Works, whose "outside workers" are now organized by a different union, would also remain. The respondent cites the following cases wherein the Board has indicated an aversion to similar fragmentation (The Corporation of the Township of Markham, [1969] OLRB Rep. Aug. 592; Niagara Regional Health Unit [1975] OLRB Rep. April 376; Corporation of the City of Barrie, [1974] OLRB Rep. Nov. 813; Westeel Rosco, [1978] OLRB Rep. Nov. 1125).
4The applicant relies on 15 collective agreements which show that the parties to those agreements have agreed to recognition clauses limited to Social Service Departments or their like. The applicant cited no decisions or certificates of this Board of assistance in attempting to persuade us that a departmental basis for certification is appropriate in the circumstances.
5We have decided that the applicant has failed to show that even a prima facie case exists for the appointment of a Labour Relations Officer to gather evidence regarding the community of interest. The assertions which the applicant made to support its application fall short of what would be necessary for this Board to certify a department within a multi-department work force.
6For all these reasons we hereby dismiss the application.